Their Deviation

Don’t you know that wicked people won’t inherit God’s kingdom? Stop deceiving yourselves. People who continue to commit sexual sins, who worship false gods, those who commit adultery, homosexuals, or thieves, those who are greedy or drunk, who use abusive language, or who rob people will not inherit God’s kingdom.  (1 Corinthians 6:9-10, GW)

For this reason God gave them over to their own disgraceful and vile passions. Enflamed with lust for one another, men and women ignored the natural order and exchanged normal sexual relations for homosexuality. Women engaged in lesbian conduct, and men committed shameful acts with men, receiving in themselves the due penalty for their deviation. And because they thought it was worthless to embrace the true knowledge of God, God gave them over to a worthless mind-set, to break all rules of proper conduct. (Romans 1:26-28, TPT)

My viewpoint on the topic of homosexuality deviates from that of what mainline Christianity believes. Because of my age, life experiences, and knowledge of the Bible, I believe Paul was talking to a specific group of people in his time. (I have no idea who.) In my opinion, verses like the above have been used as a reason to hate, disrespect, and disgrace people God loves. In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Christians tend to focus on the word of “homosexuals.” If the topic was that important, why didn't Jesus mention it in the gospels? The rest of the list given in these verses would eliminate 98% of the Christians from ever entering the gates of Heaven (including me). When my wife (Bobbi) and I get in a fight, my language can get rather abusive. Thank goodness my heavenly Father is full of grace (for my shortcomings).

Whether many in the religious community believe homosexuality is a sin, there is another reason some may not accept homosexuality. Two men (or two women) together cannot sexually fulfill the biological command of Genesis 1:28 (ICB)” …“Have many children and grow in number…” Of course the same could be said of infertile heterosexual couples. Isn’t our heavenly Father good to provide so many different ways to bring children into a loving union of two people?

On June 25, 2015, same-sex marriage became legal in all fifty states (under President Obama). To be honest I was happy for the many gay couples that had been finally given the legal right to marry the one they loved as I had gotten on November 13, 1993 to Bobbi McFarlen. In regards to the topic of gay marriage, it is none of my business what two people choose to do with their life together.

Some people get the idea that all homosexual people are promiscuous sex maniacs. (Couldn’t we say this about some straight people too?) My opinion is there are homosexual (and lesbian) couples that purposely choose to have a monogamous relationship with one individual they choose to remain committed to (romantically and physically) their entire life (just like many heterosexual couples choose to do). Both the heterosexual and homosexual couples have this in common. A good marriage takes a lot of hard work, and children can benefit from two parents (that love each other).

It’s always easier to make a judgment about a group of people when you don’t have a distant connection to them. The correctness of biblical lines can get emotionally blurred when one has a close gay relative like a child, sibling, or parent. Personally, if I could find one thing that I disliked about the gay movement. It would be the snippets of various Gay Right’s Parades on TV that I’ve seen on the news over the years.  They are so over-the-top that I believe they hurt the cause of the gay movement to the straight community rather than help it. (It provides a scary, unrealistic viewpoint of the gay community.)

John 15:12 (TPT) is God’s plea to the Christian community. It is both easy and hard to do. There are no exclusion clauses on this verse. It needs to be done for everyone to the best of your ability. “So this is my command: Love each other deeply, as much as I have loved you. ^“ How well are you doing this?